Better Farming

Using advanced data, imaging, and other cutting edge technologies, Farm Logs strives to help farmers be more efficient and successful. They recently raised a $10 million Series B lead by Sam Altman, president of Y Combinator one of the nation’s most prestigious startup accelerator.

“Our mission is to help growers use technology to create a better future for their farms. Our tools provide timely, unbiased information to help you improve yield and eliminate waste with minimal effort.”

In a desire to make urban farming possible, Aero Farms has developed a modular aeroponic growing system. This allows food to be grown safely and sustainably in urban centers. AeroFarms has raised over $70 million in VC funding to meet the demand for locally grown produce.

“We grow delicious, nutritious leafy greens and herbs without sunlight, soil, or pesticides. Our crops get the perfect amount of moisture and nutrients misted directly onto their roots in a completely controlled environment. With our patented technology, we take indoor vertical farming to a new level of precision and productivity with minimal environmental impact and virtually zero risk.”

Local Roots also realizes the huge advantage of bringing food closer to where it is eaten. This reduces the carbon footprint with groceries traveling fewer miles while keeping food even fresher.

“At Local Roots, We believe it is our responsibility to create the sustainable food system of tomorrow. In order to feed 10 billion people globally by 2050 and reduce the environmental burden of conventional agriculture, we need to rethink how and where we grow food. We will use controlled environment farming technologies to handle the increasingly volatile climate while providing more people access to lush, nutritious produce.”

Better Food

Ripple’s idea: Dairy-free milk should be as nutritious as milk, and can be better for the environment as well. Their solution: Dairy free milk made from peas.

‘Cows require large amounts of carbon-intensive cattle feed and release large amounts of methane, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Those emissions don’t occur with a plant-based milk like Ripple. Yellow peas aren’t just better for you, they’re better for the earth.”

Both Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are looking to revolutionize meat substitutes. They are trying to show that creating what we know as meat does not need cows or pigs or chickens, but rather just a bunch of really smart scientists and inventors.

“Because we use 0% cows, the Impossible Burger uses a fraction of the Earth’s natural resources. Compared to cows, the Impossible Burger uses 95% less land, 74% less water, and creates 87% less greenhouse gas emissions.”

Both have been backed by Bill Gates and many other investors seeing an opportunity to use incredible innovations to rethink how meat is produced. In fact, Beyond Meat raised a series F from Tyson Foods and Humane Society of the US. That is not a combination that you see often. And while the two organizations are approaching the investment very differently, this is indicative of the opportunities in the field of food technology.

“We believe there is a better way to feed the planet. Our mission is to create mass-market solutions that perfectly replace animal protein with plant protein. We are dedicated to improving human health, positively impacting climate change, conserving natural resources and respecting animal welfare. At Beyond Meat, we want to make the world a better place and we’re starting one delicious meal at a time.”